As I sit here, I ask myself, do I write an article or a list? Do I write the names or just write a detailed story about camping food? Or I can turn my list into an article. I’ll do both and everything, so here we go. I have been camping many times over the years. And while I don’t consider myself a camping expert, I feel I have some very helpful tips for campers in the areas of feeding, hiking, setting up tents, selecting and buying tents, and other ideas. Therefore, I will write a series of articles on camping, useful camping tips and other articles related to camping, backpacking, hiking and campfires, and the rest. This article that I write here at the moment is totally dedicated to food. However, the article is geared toward foods you can take camping when you don’t want to start fires, build campfires, or lug around any cooking gear. Yes, you can camp without fire and without coal and without finding firewood. That makes camping easier for everyone and lightens your backpack. The reason your pack is lighter is because each day you eat, you have less in your pack and no matches, starting fluid, charcoal, or other related items. So now that I’ve explained myself, here’s my list:
Food for a fireless camping trip:
Grain:
- Nuts, rice cakes, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, popped popcorn, melba toast, dry cereals,
- crackers, ritz or other, corn nuts, canned potato sticks, all kinds of chips and crackers
cans:
- tuna, canned meat such as Vienna sausages, which are delicious when cold or can be put in the sun for a while,
- chickpeas, sliced potatoes, peas
Other:
- any variety of breads or crackers, rice cakes, mini rice cakes, raisins, prunes, dried fruit,
- apple scoops, crackers and snacks
- dried fruit roll-ups or fruit wraps
- peanut butter and jelly sandwiches
- laughing cow cheese, bon bell cheese, none of these need refrigeration or cooking
- shredded or grated cheeses
- sweets, chocolates,
- juices or milk in parma packets; none of these need refrigeration
- pickles, all kinds of pickles
Others:
- fresh fruits and vegetables such as carrots, apples, oranges, pea pods, grapefruit, watermelon, cantaloupe, pears, kumquats and pomegranates, and more
- Italian loaves, sliced breads, RICE (see explanation below)
- Anything else you have that doesn’t need refrigeration or cooking
There’s your list. You can pack all of that up and avoid cooking and avoid the need for ice or refrigeration. Now for the rice. Buy minute rice. You can soak a minute of rice in water in the sun and have a nice hot rice for your meal. It works, try it. Put the rice in a clear plastic container with a little warm water. Leave it in the sun and you will have hot cooked rice. You can even just put it in water and you don’t even need the sun, as long as it’s tiny rice.
I hope this helps. He writes with his own suggestions; I would love to hear them.
I created this article on May 25, 2008.